Coronavirus restrictions may be eased in late May: Spanish PM
People's Daily Online
(Xinhua) 08:38, April 23, 2020
MADRID, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday that he expected to be able to scale down the "state of alarm" movement restrictions soon. The restrictions have been in place since March 15 to control the spread of the coronavirus.
During a debate in the Spanish Parliament over his request to extend the "state of alarm" through May 9, Sanchez explained that although this was the third time he had requested an extension, now he was doing so with cautious optimism.
"We have seen a positive tendency in Spain for several days now ... we have got past the critical moment and the health system has been able to resist, while the number of people who have recovered gives reason for optimism," said Sanchez.
"We can start to think about a de-escalation scenario, but we have to be careful ... We are not going to run the risks of returning to the painful situation that it has taken us so long to turn around," he said.
Although Sanchez faced heavy criticism from opposition parties for his handling of the crisis in the debate in the Spanish Congress, the fact that the right-wing People's Party pledged to support his request means that the extension of the "state of alarm" is certain to be approved.
The prime minister explained that this next stage of the lockdown would allow the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Services to "modify, extend or limit" restrictions on activities in different parts of Spain. This implies that when restrictions do begin to be relaxed in Spain, it will be done at a different pace in different areas.
Meanwhile, the emergency morgue that was set up in the Palacio de Hielo ice rink in Madrid was closed on Wednesday after receiving 1,146 bodies.
The morgue was the first of three set up by health authorities and the Spanish army's Emergency Military Unit (UME) on March 24 to help cope with the high number of deaths in the Madrid region. The other morgues were in the nearby City of Justice complex and in the ice rink of the nearby sleeper town of Majadahonda. These had already been closed as the number of new cases and deaths continues to decline in Spain.
Of the 21,717 deaths reported by the Spanish Health Ministry on Wednesday, 7,577 have been registered in the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
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